The Rise to Heroism {Loki Laufeyson} Book One

Chapter Thirteen

"Human Pancake! It's been so long!" Tony opens his arms, welcoming me.

Again, resenting the nickname.

"Tony, pleasure to see you again too." I say and hug him. I pull away and look at Loki. His face is intent on mine, watching my every move as I socialized with his mortal enemies.

"And Blaine, old buddy!" Tony claps Loki on the back. Instead of wincing or stepping forward from the force, he stays in place, not moving a muscle. "Damn dude, you've gotten buff."

"Tony, stop feeling up Blaine. Poor kids been through enough." Steve emerges from the hallway. Like Tony, his cuts and bruises are cleaned up and barely visible. I find myself wondering how they got cleaned up so fast

"You have no idea." Loki mutters and grins deviously. I elbow him but as my elbow collides with his ribs, I hear a clang and an immense pain shoots through my arm. It starts to burn and I look at him incredulously. He lifts up his shirt to reveal body armor. I shake my head slightly, glaring at him

Ignoring him, I turn to Tony. "How did you find us?"

He shrugs. "Easy - tracking device in the communicators. Built in so you'd never know."

I nod and Loki speaks up. "Of course Stark would track your call from last night at the bunker!" He smiles, widening his eyes at me. I purse my lips, catching Steve's watchful eyes and flashing him a fake smile. Loki is just trying to make this harder than it has to be - bastard.

***

The rest of the day drones on, consisting of Loki and I acting as if nothing is wrong. Although, I suspect that Steve is skeptical - something about the way he straightens as he passes either one of us makes me question his ability to buy our Oscar winning performances.

Finally, I am escorted to my temporary room for the night. I slip into a pair of pajamas that Pepper had loaned me earlier. They're silky, soft against my skin.

As I settle into my bed, a knock flutters on my door. "Come in," I call. 'Blaine' steps in, closing the door behind him. Once it's closed and locked, his form shimmers and fades to reveal Loki. He smirks and climbs in next to me. Feeling awkward, I shimmy over slightly away from him. He seems unfazed by it on the outside, but I can tell by his eyes that he's irritated by the move.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this. If I had known that they'd go insane because I had avoided calling them for a few days-" I blurt out, feeling bad for getting the bunker raided and shying away from him.

Loki places two fingers to my lips, shushing me. "Sweetheart, it's fine. But there's something I need to talk to you about..." He trails off, sitting up and averting my eyes.

"Loki...?" I try but he looks away. I huff, gripping his pale, cold chin and forcing him to look at me. Once he meets my eyes, I let go and he sighs, continuing on.

"I'm leaving." He admits.

"What? You can't just leave me here!" I exclaim and grab his wrist. He stares at me. He looks different.

"What's really going on?" I question, squinting.

"I can't keep the illusion up any longer. It's draining my energy, therefore I need to leave." He whispers.

Well, the fatigue is certainly apparent. Huge shadows are stretch under his eyes, his pupils reduced to a dull dot in the middle of his iris. I touch his face. He searches my eyes then cups my hand with his own.

"I'm coming with you." I announce. His eyes widen and he pulls away from me.

"You most certainly are not!"

"I got you in this mess, I intend to fix it." I raise my voice.

"No, you must stay here. Where I am going, you cannot come." Loki hisses, keeping his voice low. We both know that if he's caught, we're both dead.

"Loki, stop being an ass." I snap.

"I am no rear of any kind!" He looks disgusted, mouth wide open in revolt.

I burst out laughing but stop when I see his expression. "You are to stay here where you are safe." He orders and I feel nostalgia from back at the compound where he gave me order 24/7. It's adorable how he still thinks he can. Idiot.

"At least tell me where you're going?" I cock an eyebrow.

He sighs. "Jotunheim."

"Why not Asgard?"

"Do you ever hear yourself talk? Do you not understand how idiotic you sounded just now?" He hisses.

"You now understand how I felt when I first arrived at the compound you misogynistic bastard!" I yell, straightening to make myself seem taller than I really am. He makes me feel so small and scared that this action actually lifts my spirits a bit. By towering over him, I could take control of this argument.

"I dare you to say one more thing, mortal!" He snarls and pushes me down on the bed. The force makes me dizzy and I watch him leave, shimmering into Blaine's image.

So much for controlling the conversation...